05/15/20 19:22:10 UTC50.125 MHz Helos in Uwharrie vic "291.9" "try them again and then we'll RTB" "head back to point 227, pick up (?gimlin?)" "it's a good thing out PAX brought parachutes, we'll just drop em off here and call it good" (??i dunno what that means??) "ascend to 100 feet" "14,16, are you gonna drop (?sticks?) 192,193 and go straight to 194?" "gonna go straight to 195". Associated w/ comms heard on 69.425FM and possibly 38.725FM as well. 5/14/2020 approx 1837+h -AJ

05/15/20 15:03:39 UTC50.125 MHz Helos in Uwharrie vic "291.9" "try them again and then we'll RTB" "head back to point 227, pick up (?gimlin?)" "it's a good thing out PAX brought parachutes, we'll just drop em off here and call it good" (??i dunno what that means??) "ascend to 100 feet" "14,16, are you gonna drop (?sticks?) 192,193 and go straight to 194?" "gonna go straight to 195". Associated w/ comms heard on 69.425FM and possibly 38.725FM as well. 5/14/2020 approx 1837+h -AJ

05/15/20 14:53:45 UTC69.425 MHz ARMY 20327 attempts to contact KVUJ twr (was closed) then on 69.425FM a report of no contact & someone should try UHF. This followed by "291.9" (KVUJ UHF) being called out on 50.125FM by a different party. Repeat of failed contact on VHF by female pilot (heard earlier on 69.425FM) IDing as ARMY 20273. Considering valley location, good Rx. 5/14/2020 approx 1830+h -AJ

HAVEQUICK Military Radio System: What it Is and What It's Not

HQ, HAVE QUICK are other names the HAVEQUICK Frequency Hopping system is referred to as.

In this article I hope to give you a better understanding on what the Military HAVEQUICK radio system is, how it works, and what it's not.

It is important to remember that HAVEQUICK is NOT a form nor was intended to be a form
of encryption. Many HAVEQUICK transmissions are voice analog and in the clear. Yes,
encryption can be used. However the HAVEQUICK radio system
was not developed with the intent of being an encryption system. I have personally heard
some HAVEQUICK encrypted comms on the scanner however most of the HAVEQUICK transmission
were in the clear and you could usually make out a word or two during the transmission.

HAVEQUICK is a frequency hopping system is used as an anti-jamming communication system. Basically
the HAVEQUICK system uses a series of 16 UHF AM (225-380 MHz) radio frequencies. During a radio
transmission a computer in the aircraft rapidly switches the transmission between the 16
pre-set frequencies, both the length and order of frequency selection are "random" and
are based on very precise timing. The the transmitter and receiver must be "in-sync"
as to the timing of each frequency switch or the received signal will be broken.

The perfered method of frequency switch timing is via a GPS receiver attached to the HAVEQUICK
radio. However GPS is not always a perfect method. GPS signals can be blocked during
various maneuvers a jet figher is performing during a dog-fight. GPS signal can also be blocked
by another aircraft above, blocking line-of-site to the GPS satelittes. Due to
these possiblities HAVEQUICK radios have other methods of getting a "timing-tick" signal.

In the absence of GPS equipment, a Time Signal Set (TSS) can pass Time-Of-Day (TOD) over-the-air
to any HAVEQUICK radio. These TSS's are normally installed at Air Force bases or on large
surface vessels.

Another method of sending TOD information to a HAVEQUICK radio is from an AWACS or JSTARS
aircraft. These aircraft have onboard rubidium oscillators that can pass an
accurate TOD signal to any HAVEQUICK radio. I have personally heard these TOD signals, below
is a YouTube video I made of such a signal.

Video of Actual TOD Timing Signal from an AWACS during Exercises in Florida

When you are searching the Military Air Band (225-380 MHz) and your scanner stops on what
seems like a transmission that was the length of a word or two, that was probably
a HAVEQUICK transmission. The table below outlines the HAVEQUICK frequenices. These
frequencies are what are known as the "Frequency Managed Training Net".

FMT-Net for Continental United States

Channel Designation

Frequency (AM)

Preset Channel 20:

235.050 MHz

Preset Channel 19:

225.150 MHz

Preset Channel 18:

252.925 MHz

Preset Channel 17:

239.950 MHz

Preset Channel 16:

271.950 MHz

Preset Channel 15:

267.850 MHz

Preset Channel 14:

262.450 MHz

Preset Channel 13:

257.250 MHz

Preset Channel 12:

314.450 MHz

Preset Channel 11:

308.750 MHz

Preset Channel 10:

303.275 MHz

Preset Channel 9:

298.650 MHz

Preset Channel 8:

293.550 MHz

Preset Channel 7:

289.050 MHz

Preset Channel 6:

284.150 MHz

Preset Channel 5:

279.750 MHz

TOD AWACS/JSTARS signal 287.450 MHz

I have personally heard HAVEQUICK comms on all of the above frequencies except for 298.650.
That could simply be that over the years my searching scanner just never was at the right
place at the right time.

The above frequencies maintain a 4 MHz minimum separation and have been standardized for continental United
States FMT-Nets. These frequencies are in the order in which they will be used for training
by the Tactical Air Command.

You may ask why Preset Channels 0 - 4 do not exist in the above table. I do not know the answer
to that question, but I do have some thoughts. There are 2 different types of nets, FMT-Nets as outlined
here and are used for training in the CONUS. Then there are T-Nets. I believe the empty channels
deal with allowing open memory in the HAVEQUICK radios to allow for the coded "Word-of-the-Day"
which are used in T-Nets. Just a thought.

I had always know a little about what HAVEQUICK was and how it functioned. However until
doing some research I didn't know the HAVEQUICK frequency order until I found an online
non-classified document. Now with this information I am going to try and
scan HAVEQUICK and hear the entire transmission. My first thought is to enter the above
frequencies into a bank, in the order as listed above without any delay. Next time
there are HAVEQUICK transmissions in Florida I hope to learn more.